Teenager saves driver in horror smash

THE fast actions of a teenager may have saved the life of a man whose car ploughed through a wall and into a tree.

Kieran Gee, 15, rushed out of his house on Scott Street, Leigh, when he heard the screech of a car and a huge bang that shook his house, to find a man trapped in the footwell of his car just after 11am yesterday.

He tried to open the driver’s door to free the man, who was stuck in the footwell of the vehicle.

Kieran, who is a pupil at Lowton High School, turned the car’s engine off and alerted a neighbour who phoned the emergency services.

He said: “I was downstairs on the computer and heard a car engine screaming down the road and then there was a huge bang, at first I thought something had crashed into our house.

“I ran outside and saw the man on the floor and his legs all crushed up, I tried to get him out but I couldn’t, so I took the keys out of the car because the engine was steaming.

“I saw one of my neighbours and asked him to phone the police because my hands were shaking too much and then went back to the car and kicked the steering wheel up to try and give him some more room because I couldn’t move his seat back as it was jammed.”

Within minutes fire crews, ambulances and police vehicles were at the scene and the fire brigade began cutting the roof of the vehicle to free the 28-year-old man.

Because of the speed the man was travelling at the engine had come into the front of the Honda Civic Type R, trapping the man further.

It is not clear what speed the car was travelling at when it collided with the wall belonging to Leigh Boxing and Fitness Gym.

Kieran, who was off school because of illness, said: “Before the emergency services arrived the man was holding my hand and was saying that he didn’t understand how he was still alive. The engine was pushed right back into his chest. I’m just in shock at the moment, all I kept thinking was that I had to get him out.”

His mum, Mel, said: “Kieran is really shaken up but I am so proud of him and his quick-thinking actions.

“Not many people would think to turn the engine off in case of a fire when faced with such a terrifying ordeal.

“His instinct just kicked in and he did what he knew he had to do.”

It is believed the driver escaped the crash with minor injuries, including a broken ankle and whiplash. He was taken to Wigan Infirmary by ambulance for treatment and his condition was not known at the time of going to press.